Stonyfield Organic Super Fruits Giveaway!

I’m off to Pittsburgh this morning to spend Easter weekend with Matt and his parents! I’m proud of myself because I banged out a massive 12 page final exam paper yesterday AND finished my Biochem paper due on Monday so I will now be able to relax for most of the weekend I will be bringing Biochem notes to study on the plane though, don’t you worry!

In my absence, I thought I would leave you all with a giveaway today, courtesy of Stonyfield!

I can honestly say that since going on the barnstorming tour I’ve made a HUGE effort to buy more organic, and now only buy organic milk, eggs, meat, and anything on the “dirty dozen” list. Yay! Now if we can just get Chobani and Maple View Farm to go organic, too, I’ll be all good…

Here’s how to enter to win all these fantastic organic goodies — each option is an additional entry!

Leave a comment telling me your thoughts on organic food.

Tweet about this contest on Twitter (include a link to this post and @fannetasticfood),and then leave another comment telling me you tweeted.

If you have a blog, mention and link back to this contest in one of your posts, and then leave another comment letting me know you blogged about it.

Mention and link back to this contest on your Facebook page, then leave another comment telling me you Facebooked it.

Be sure to post a separate comment for each entry option you do!

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U.S. residents only, please. You have until Monday morning (April 25th) at 9 a.m. EST to enter, when I will draw and announce the winner! Good luck!

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p.s. Speaking of giveaways — I have another awesome one for you all to check out!

If you’ve been wanting to go to Fitbloggin’ in Baltimore in May (I’ll be there!) but haven’t signed up yet, Attune Foods (one of the event sponsors) is hosting an amazing giveaway this morning on their blog for one lucky person to win a free ticket to FitBloggin’ plus $500 to use toward airfare or hotel! Sweeeeet! Check out their blog post for details

Ever since one of my buddies started working at the Farmer’s Market, I’ve been getting into organic foods and now, seeing there are so many options, I like to diversify my meals with all sorts of goodies!

I definitely try to incorporate more organic foods into my diet, now that I know some of the benefits. Especially with fruits and veggies, I feel better buying organic. I wish I could afford to buy ALL organic, but I’m still a college student. :] Maybe some day!

Have been reading your blog for a few days now via CNC! I am from Raleigh and am about to graduate with an MPH from Emory!

I try to buy organic when I can, but I feel that it’s also important to buy local and ask local producers questions about their farming practices. Organic certification is often too expensive and difficult for small farmers, even if they are organic and sustainable!

Have you heard about the farm tour through weaver street market? http://www.carolinafarmstewards.org/
It already happened this year, but there is always next year. I went a few years ago and it was SO fantastic!

I try to buy organic when I can, but student loans eat up most of my spending money. I scour for sales on Stonyfield Yogurt like it’s my job and stock up when it’s on sale … we may have bought 20 yogurts the last time that they were $10/5. There are also a lot of organic coupons online that I’ve been trying to use recently. I probably focus more on buying local than buying organic, for now. Someday I’ll have a bigger grocery budget!

I absolutely buy a lot of organic foods, and tend to steer toward them in the grocery store. However, I’ve had a lot of discussions with Jenny (and Dan) regarding whether or not organic is really better for you (because pesticides are still used, but they’re just “organic” pesticides?) I still have a lot of research to do, but for now I figure that since I’m a trend-hopper I’ll stick to it, ahaha.

Organic food is a must! Althought it’s hard for some people to fork over the little bit of extra dough to buy organic and it’s hard to justify it when there aren’t any tangible differences – it makes all the difference with what’s going on INSIDE your body. I try to buy organic whenever possible – especially the dirty dozen!

I really believe that organic food can be healthier, tastier, and definitely more gentle on the environment. That being said, being “organic” does not automatically make something healthy for a person, and the added expense can make it appear elitist or unattainable. If organic products were the standard instead of the exception, our country–people, animals and land–might be in much better shape.

I think organic food should be mandatory- no added elite standard required, just food grown the way it was intended. It makes me sad that I can’t afford all organic products- but do what I can when I can. Every time I buy something organic and healthy I’m making a vote for what I want in my grocery store!!!

I wish I could afford to buy organic everything, but I am always sure to buy ALL organic dairy, spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes and apples. Those are the items I eat the most of, so I want to be sure that they are pesticide free.

As a student on a dining plan I don’t always get to choose. However, 30-35% of the food served at my school is local! When I am home for the Summer I try to buy organic produce- as long as its not too $$$!

you know, i love the idea of eating all organic, but at this point in my life i have not made the switch. i think educating myself a little more will lend itself toward buying more organic. i’m planning to read some of the food industry books floating around out there, and possibly this will be enough to sway me toward only organic… we’ll see!

Organic food is great, but the cost is so much more then the non-organic at the store that it would hurt my bank account too much to try and buy all organic…… being a grad student puts me on a limited grocery budget!

Organics are my dream! I buy as much as possible! I buy as locally as possible and we eat as little meat as possible! It is really expensive to fill your kitchen with the healthiest choices so I do the best I can on a budget!

On a college student’s budget, it’s hard to buy organic all (or even most) of the time, but whenever I buy apples I make sure they’re organic. Something about eating the skin that may have had chemicals on it just grosses me out!

When my oldest daughter was one (she is now 9), I bought a huge box of beautiful peaches from Sam’s Club; right on the box, in regular print(not the fine print) was written that the peaches were treated with pesticides and fungicides….that’s when I immediately converted to all organic products. I wasn’t about to feed my darling baby girl foods treated with chemicals!

I love buying organic! Knowing what goes into my body and where it comes from is important to me – just as important as knowing I’m doing my part for the world around me! Although it may be expensive, as with all good-quality things in life, organic products are worth the price!

We started eating “consciously” about a year ago and trying to buy organic as much as possible. Most of our produce comes from farmer’s markets during the summer, though this winter we were only about 50% organic, simply because the supply was so limited at our local market and Whole Foods is difficult to get to. I can’t wait for farmer’s market season to start again in a few weeks!

I try to buy organic food as much as possible and definitely think organic is worth the money. However, that is one of the reasons keeping me from buying everything organic. Right now I just buy organic meats, cheeses, and ketchup.

I hope so! I always debate local vs. organic if both is not an option… with dairy I tend to go for organic, but with produce I go more for local. Maple View makes me happy though since I see their cows out in the pasture looking happy and not cramped up inside and sad

I am really into eating organic since I was diagnosed with cancer, however, I wish more foods were going organic. Living in Iowa we are just really getting organic foods in our HyVee grocery stores. The Stoneyfield super fruit yogurt looks delish, too!

Getting used to buying organic dairy and produce was like getting used to buying premium denim for me. Once I got used to the higher prices and what I expected the products to cost, I have never looked back!

I think it’s hard for people to pay more for something when they are so removed from the source of why it’s better, you know? I mean, you can’t SEE the pesticides or the poorly treated animals… just the higher price tag. Sucks that we as a nation have gotten so removed from where our food comes from.

I followed your posts about your trip, and that in conjunction with what I’ve learned from some of Michael Pollan’s books has made me search for organic as much as possible. I have the “dirty dozen” app on my itouch!

Having a large family, it was not always friendly to my pocket book to buy organic in years past, but since we are empty nester’s now, I have been trying to introduce organic food (sneak it in) for me and my husband. Last month I found a farm nearby to buy vegetables and just this morning I went to a strawberry farm about a mile away and picked them myself. You can sure tell the difference.

Eating organic food is important for reducing chemicals on our land as well as in our bodies and water systems. However, I can’t say I am that great at buying organic, usually because I am trying to save money. I just bought organic milk yesterday though! Also, I feel slightly conflicted about buying organic vs. buying local, as buying local seems to make more sense in terms of green house gas emissions and supporting local businesses.

Since having children eating organic and locally grown foods has become very important to me. I try to buy local meats & poultry, and I only buy organic veggies/dairy. I feel like I’ll ease up once the boys are older but now that they’re so young I want to do the best I can to make sure they’re eating the best they can eat!

I try to buy organic whenever the option is available, and if something is particularly expensive, I’ll usually choose a more affordable (but still organic) alternative. It’s worth it to me to spend the extra money since I consider it an investment in my health and the environment, and I’ll cut back in other areas (like eating out, getting coffee, etc) to compensate for the extra costs.

Thin skinned organic veggies make sense. Some of those chemicals don’t wash off easily. But, I wish organic meat was cheaper. It’s hard to justify paying twice as much for meat that tastes the same to me.

i basically buy everything organic. i used to pick and choose, but eventually decided the price is worth it. the only exception i make is at the farmer’s market – some of those tiny farms can’t afford to get certified but are very open about their (organic) farming practices so i know i can trust them! great giveaway

Organic is better for me, my family, the earth, and all the other people, plants and animals that inhabit it. Plus, it tastes better! Choosing organic is a no-brainer to me. I’m now working on getting as many of my organic products as possible from local producers, and thanks to a truly wonderful CSA I have signed up with, I’m having great success with that goal!

I think organic is definitley better for you. That being said, I definitley don’t buy enough of it! Sometimes it’s not available or I have a hard time justifying the cost. I tend to go half/half with organic and nonorganic.

I think going organic is great. However, as one of seven children in a blended family, I also think that sometimes it is just too expensive. So I personaly sacrifice other luxuries, such as going out to a movie or eating out, so that I can afford to buy organic most of the time. But I also believe that everyone has a right to choose whether or not buying organic is right for them and would never push it on someone.

Being part of a large family makes buying organic harder, but also more important. Living in a little village makes it a lot harder to know whether we’re buying organic or not – at least some of the produce is sold directly from the farmers.

I travel frequently for work (about 2 weeks a month) and I love checking out different health food stores. I easily spend an hour in Whole Foods any time I find one because I don’t have one at home! My favorite organic purchase is from the Farmer’s Market I go to when I’m home. There is a man who sells about 15 kinds of mushrooms and is very knowledgeable about how to mix them and what recipes to try out! I love to make mushroom lasagna with enoki mushrooms- they look so neat!

Between organic produce delivery to my doorstep & loving the flavor of organic dairy (its nonfat/low fat but tastes whole fat – how awesome is that?), I spend plenty of money on organic foods. But with the use of coupons & rewards programs, plus buying less meat (we get produce deliveries weekly – gotta use those veggies up quickly, so there’s not always room for meat anyway), I can usually justify the extra cost in my mind!

There are some organic foods that are extremely important to me (like eggs, dairy, most produce, etc.) but I also think there are some organic foods that I can live without. It’s all about finding out what is important to you and your body and balancing it all out.

I like the idea of buying organic, but generally I can’t afford it on my college student budget. I do support buying local whenever I can (and lucky for me, Stonyfield is “local” in that they’re a NH company )

I buy only organic milk and soymilk, but when it comes to produce it depends on price. I don’t mind paying 25% more and always buy organic if its on sale, but we don’t have the money to pay double for organic. We do love our local farmer’s markets and farm stands here in Oregon and especially the independent stands tend to be less expensive and WAY more delicious than conventional grocery store stuff. I also grow my own greens, peppers, tomatoes and herbs which helps us with the grocery budget and increasing our organics.

I was embarrasingly late to the game in understanding the importance and benefit of buying organic – it wasn’t until I watched The Future of Food a couple of years ago that I truly “got” it. I now have a Dirty Dozen/Clean 15 app on my phone (LOVE IT) and buy organic whenever I can. (First farmer’s markets in my area open tomorrow! Woo hoo!!)

I agree with Caitlin above that the price tag is abominable for organic – but I hope that with more and more people demanding real, safe, non GM’d foods….we’ll get to a place where it’s more commonplace than not. Here’s hoping!!! I’ll do my part to make it happen for sure!

I think organic is the way to go I like to eat and feed my family organic products because they don’t contain any “crap” I can’t pronounce! I mean, look at the food labels sometimes. If I can’t say it or know what it is, I’m certainly not giving it to my kids! We also try to eat a LOT of locally grown produce and if locally grown can’t be found, organic is what I purchase.

I’m in a fortunate location, in that Western Massachusetts has a bounty of fantastic coops, community shares, and local and organic farms. Organic food just tastes better. It tastes cleaner. If food could taste compassionate, I think it’d be organic!

I believe in clean eating, local especially, I think organic is definitely a good way to go, but sometimes its also just a label. Its most important to know where your food comes from! Like your garden (even if its not officially organic)!

We try to buy organics! It gets easier every year–our CSA and local co-op were always great options, but the mass market grocers are offering more options all the time! Yay for us, for creating a greater demand!

I always try to buy the organic version of the “dirty dozen” at the very least. I know it’s better for me and the environment, but for some fruits and veggies I have a hard time spending so much more money for the organic version.

I think organic food is a great way to treat your body (and the environment) in a healthy, sustainable way. That being said, it is expensive! Good thing there are lots of other healthy options – reusable bags, carpooling, etc.!

Oftentimes, the “organic”label can be an indicator of a producer who cares more about their product (i.e., I sometimes use it as a way to guess about general quality). However, for local & small producers, I know it can be very expensive & difficult to become certified, so I try to look deeper than just labels!

I love buying organic when I can – but given my current lifestyle (college student) I’ve been trying more to buy local fruits and vegetables from the farmer’s market. It means a lot to me to support local farmers, many of which in this area are organic. hopefully in the future I’ll be able to buy more organic meats and other products!

Organic foods are totally worth it – they taste better, are better for the environment, and are healthier! I’d rather cut back on other expenses (such as cooking more at home instead of eating out) to be able to afford to buy organic all the time!

We buy organic fruits and veggies throughout the year and from a local farmer during the summer. Our farm isn’t organic but they grow in organic practices. They do not make enough money to pay for the organic certification. I also buy my milk and meat from local sources, which are absolutely wonderful!

I love organic foods! There are no pesticides and chemicals in these foods so they are better for your body. The more you eat natural, raw foods that are organic the easier it is for your body to process them and the healthier you will be

So about organic foods… Before this year I was totally turned off by the idea because so many girls I met were so prissy about it. It was like the must-have Louis Vuitton purse and if you didn’t buy organic then you were considered “trailer trash”.

I spent the academic year 2009-2010 studying abroad in China. My food options were limited when it came to eating fresh fruits and veggies. I grew to miss it and I gained about ten pounds while I was there. Not going to lie, the food was amazing. If you ever get the chance, order eggplant while you’re in China. But I digress…

Bottom line. I got home and I wanted to feel clean inside and out. Eating organic food feels like a spa treatment sometimes for my insides. I just have to be careful and save up my money for it because I cannot afford to buy all organic (yet).

I have just recently gotten more interested in the production of the food that I eat after watching Food, Inc. I have not yet ‘gone organic’ but I definately shop local now & farmers markets are now my favorite weekend activity…well, after my bowl of oatmeal!

I’m loving the discussion you’ve inspired about organic food, Anne! For people who say that organic food is expensive: You either pay for it now, or you pay for it later. Organic food (particularly of the local variety) is worth the price because it is a) more environmentally-friendly, b) better for the local economy, c) more ethical in its treatment of the animals, land, AND people working on the farm, and d) healthier for the person doing the consuming. Yes, it’s more expensive. But so are the health and environmental costs of NOT eating organic foods.

People who want to buy organic produce should start with the dirty dozen and go from there. The more people who buy organic, the lower that prices will be and the more producers will realize that being organic is economically beneficial. (It’s still about the bottom line, after all.) I believe that people who have any form of disposable income have an obligation to vote with their dollars and their forks. Organic food isn’t just about our own health–it’s about the health of our communities and ensuring that EVERYONE, not just the middle and upper classes, can afford organic food. (Organic food should be the rule, not the exception, anyway.)

Also, Anne, I want to say that while Maple View isn’t certified organic, the farm recently won an award for low somatic cell count. (Basically, an indicator both of great milk quality and very sanitary cow treatment.) Organic certification in this area is pretty controversial since it’s expensive for small farms like Maple View. In fact, Joel Salatin of Omnivore’s Dilemma and Food, Inc. fame said at his recent talk at UNC that he disagrees with the organic certification process because it’s so fundamentally flawed in its approach. Many farms that employ organic procedures above and beyond those of organic cannot afford the certification or are found in violation of its requirements because they don’t own costly processing plants or have “proper” processing techniques.

While I still believe that organic is better than pesticide-laden, etc., I fear that it’s nothing more than a buzzword these days. Both systems need an overhaul, preferably one that unites all farms in a system that stimulates the economy without affecting environmental and personal health.

This comment is definitely more than 2 cents-worth, but I want to thank you for inspiring such a lively conversation!

GREAT comment, Meghan! Very true regarding the flaws in the organic certification process itself – that was brought up and discussed on the Stonyfield Barnstorming Tour I went on. I’m really glad to hear that my beloved Maple View is doing me proud